Thank you for that very important question.

Let me say at the outset that I had an opportunity this summer to meet in Yukon with the communities that are doing the work on missing children. This summer, the department imposed a cap of $500,000 because of the demand that came forward from those who were doing the work. I note that all of the communities are at different stages of seeking answers.

So far, we have invested $323 million in supporting communities through the fund. Right now, as we speak, we continue to approve funding requests even above the million-dollar mark. The deadline for applications is November 15, so we continue to assess the nature of the applications and are making sure that we can best support them.

We will need additional funds, which we are very committed to seeking from the Minister of Finance, in order to ensure that there is funding going forward. However, I can assure the communities doing the work that, from the outset—from the time of Kamloops to now—we have been with the communities every step of the way, and we have continued to support projects that have been working directly with communities that are working on specific projects based in their local communities. In Yukon, I believe all 14 communities are working together on one project, which is one of the issues I talked about, because there are a number of different communities that may have different projects in mind that we can also work with.

Our department has been very open to having discussions with communities and those groups that are working to secure funding, and we will continue to be available. Make no mistake, though; we will ensure that there is funding for communities every step of the way. It's a commitment that Minister Miller made, that I have made and that the Prime Minister has made. We will not leave anyone behind.

Gary Anandasangaree

$471,027.00